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Clues
There I was, attempting to climb the ladder to the Apartment in vain. It was only the next day, but the media from all over Gielinor had come and were hounding me at the ladder's base. My sweaty hands shook with annoyance as I tried to fit my key into the latch lock. "Mr. Frumac, how is it like to be a seer?" "Mr. Frumac! Mister! How do you trigger your precognitions?" Those were just some of the questions I remember. I could feel anger and annoyance grow inside... "Shut UP!" I yelled. The crowd instantly fell quiet. "Can't you leave a man to his life and business?" I finally shoved the mithril key into the heavy lock and turned it. The hatch groaned open; the media stared into our home. Before they could ask one more irritating question, I deftly swept inside and slammed the hatch down, locking it securely. "Sounds like you've been having a fun day," Rarren said from the corner. He was finishing some Advanced Mechanics homework. "Oh, don't even joke about that. Where's Livan?" I asked. "She went to the library to research something called the 'Bazzmel'." A light went off in my head. "You mean Bazsmaal? King Roald mentioned it to me." I began to ponder. "Yeah, she thinks they might be causing this drought." "I'll be right back," I said. "You're really going back through that?" "No." I threw some runes at my feet, and I rose up in a tube of blue and purple. ---- I arrived directly in front of the parched Varrock Fountain. The media was still swarming in the General Store, so I took my chance and ran for the palace, and the library. The trees in the palace's grotto were gray and lifeless, the leaves curled and brown. I casually walked in; thankfully no one was on the ground floor. I was soon inside the library, where the soft music of the lute filled the air. Apparently, even the musicians found it too hot to bare. I could easily find Livan in the abandoned library; she had her neck craned over an especially old-looking tome. I quickly walked over. "Hey, Livan," I said. "Oh, hi Dancus. Why're you here?" "Rarren said that you were here, so I came." "Without the press on your tail?" "Never mind that. What are you reading on?" I already knew, but it was only polite. "This mysterious sun-worshipping cult called the Baszmaal. I think we should look into this. I think they might have plotted Roald's attempted murder." "But why?" Livan ignored my question. "Here's a picture of a Bazsmaal; does it look like the man who tried to kill Roald?" She turned to a dog-eared page, on which was a picture of a man with heavily tanned skin, in a yellow robe. On his chest there was a small emblem, a snake twisted around a pole. "Except for the yellow cover-all, yes. Exactly." "Maybe the agent was trying to fit in with the crowd." "Perhaps, Livan. Do you know anything else about this cult?" I asked. "Nothing, nothing at all. This book is very limited with information." She turned to another section. "Five whole chapters have been ripped out." "Well, who else would know anything about a sun cult?" "Well, there is a Temple Knight; my uncle; my mother's brother. He's named Dojan Kastel. He is the bishop who controls all of the churches and abbeys this side of White Wolf. He's an expert. He got his doctorate degree in Religious Study at Saint Rimmington's Univeristy in Port Sarim. If anyone would know about a mysterious sun cult, it's him." "I guess we'll be heading off to Port Sarim then?" "Correct." Livan walked over to Reldo and signed out her book. Then, we walked quickly through the heat. "Hey guys!" Rarren shouted from a distance. Apparently he had told off the press, because no one was in the General Store anymore. Rarren had our pets in tow. "Just taking them out for a stroll." "Rarren, we need to go to Port Sarim," I said. "Oh great, Dancus. Another way to get in trouble, eh? What are we doing now?" "Finding who was responsible for the attempted murder." Livan suddenly took over the conversation. "My uncle might know what is happening." A Varrock Guard, who was polishing his blade, suddenly became interested. Without notice, he turned his ear towards us. "Well, off we go," Rarren said, sighing slightly. "You're pretty lucky we're on Ire of Phyrrys break." Livan crushed some runes and pointed at her rabbit. He flew over in a purple orb, and landed on her shoulder. "Good Hale." She took a carrot out of her pocket, and fed it to him. The two of us, more limited in magical skill, walked over and picked up our familiars. I petted my chinchompa, Dane, and placed him in my sack, leaving the top open. Rarren kept his ferret on a leash. We all held hands as Livan pulled away her sleeve and rubbed on her gold ring. I felt coolness fall over me as a rather large cabbage encased us, and brought us down into the ground, heading at the speed of light through a tunnel towards Port Sarim. The guard who had been watching us slowly took off his facemask, revealing a tanned face. He took a small phial out of his sleeve, and spilled its contents on the ground. He was swallowed by an orb of dark green light, and silently was whisked away. ---- As we arrived in the cabbage patch in Port Sarim, and the gigantic cabbage descended into the ground, the sun once again beat down with intense heat. In front of us stood a wall of soldiers, clad in white armor, gripping longswords with clawed gauntlets covering their hands. They were guarding the port. "State your purpose here or leave with haste." A guardsmen stepped forward and brandished his sword. "We've come to see Saint Rimmington's, and my uncle," I said. Dancus and Rarren stepped back slightly as I walked a few steps forward. "He's a professor and a much respected bishop of the church." "That is all well to do, but we have been instructed to bar this city against anyone without Asgarnian royalty or an appropriate association." Now Rarren stepped forward and stood with me. "Well in that case, didn't you recognize me?" The knight looked perplexed. "I'm Kalacir Varze! The son of Sir Amik." Rarren was a reasonably good liar. The real Kalacir Varze had gone missing on a fishing trip in Draynor Village, sparking yet another Asgarnia-Misthalian war which had only ended months earlier. "Kalacir? Our search party scoured the entirety of Misthalin for y-" "Nevermind that my good man, just let us through." The knight stepped to the side. "Very well your grace." Rarren led us through the guard and into the city. The effects of the mass drought had become apparent; ships lay on their sides on what used to be the harbor's ocean floor. Once the waters retreated, however, there was nothing to support them. Shattered wood which used to make up the masts of boats lay scattered on the boardwalks. Sailors, now out of a job, protected their wrecked trade ships as their crews hauled out the cargo in the sweltering heat. The towers of the university rose over the bone-dry harbor, their stained glass casting beautiful patterns on the ground. We walked through the port quickly, and arrived at the polished teak front doors. Rarren pushed them open with haste. A long hallway, set in marble and gilded in some places with blurite, lay before us, lit by the blue flames of blurite salts, which burned almost completely, and very efficiently. We strolled down the beautiful corridor, being careful to read each room's name. "Numismatics, Physics, Mechanics 1, Cooking..." I mumbled to myself. At the end of the hallway was a spiral staircase, which we took up to the first floor. A bald man in priests' robes walked down an adjacent corridor. "Uncle Dojan!" I called. The man turned around and slipped on a pair of half-moon spectacles. "Livan? Is that you?" He began walking in our direction. "What are you doing here?" He smiled. "And who are your friends?" "Oh, this is Dancus Frumac," Dancus waved his hand, "and that's Rarren Ule. They're friends from college." "Ah! Mr. Frumac, I've heard quite a many things about you in the past days!" He walked over and shook Dancus' hand. "Well, now that we're all introduced, I have a problem we need to address." "And you came to me with it?" "Well, we think King Roald's attempted murder may be linked to a cult called the Bazsmaal. Do you know anything about them?" My Uncle Dojan frowned "I know enough that you should be staying far away from them, Livan." He gave me the evil eye. "Well, I have this book on the Bazsmaal, which is missing five chapters which could help us with this... impromptu investigation. I was wondering if you could fill in the missing information." I handed the book to my uncle. "Livan, are you sure you want to know?" ---- The Varrock Guard descended from a sphere of green light, directly in front of the White Knights' blockade. He walked up to the head Knight and tapped him on the shoulder. The knight pulled up his faceplate to reveal a blackened face. The Varrock Guard took off his as well. "The Varrockians know too much, Rester of the Moon. I overheard them. They are at St. Rimmington's University. I contacted the Supreme, and they have ordered an annihilation against them," the guard said. "Well, Walker of Planes, how will we do so?" the knight asked. "I might have a few ideas." ---- "Eh... guys?" I said. "What is it, Rare?" Dancus asked. "I think we have a problem." I was looking out the window with my spyglass. "Look, it's a Varrock Guard and a White Knight. Together." "After the war? Something's fishy." "Well, apparently they're after something in the University, 'cos they're headed our way. ---- I stood with my Uncle in his empty classroom. He locked the door and shuffled over to me. "Livan, you have to understand me when I say this: you are getting you and your friends into something that is too dangerous for a group of college students to handle. The Bazsmaal are hellbent on the destruction of this finite earth. The entire war was a cove-" My Uncle choked and fell to the ground. I looked down in agony. A poisoned dragon dart protruded from his neck. Outside, a White Knight jammed a dart into the lock, and opened the door. He stepped into the room. "Now miss, if you'd please come with me, we have important business to cover." He grabbed my arm and brought me into the hallway. "Where are my friends?" I demanded. "What did you do to them?" Nothing but silence left the knight's lips. I heard a soft pitterpatter of feet coming down the adjacent corridor. I turned around and saw... Dane! Dancus' chinchompa! I clenched my captor's arm and bent it back with all my force. A sickening crack came from his forearm. "AGHH!" He fell over in pain on the marble floors. I grabbed his sword from his hands, and sped down the corridor, picking up Dane. Dane began to squeak wildly as we came near one room. I peered inside the door's window and saw Dancus and Rarren tied to chairs, with a Varrock Guard constantly taunting them. I jammed the sword into the doorknob, wrecking the lock. I flung the door open and ran in. "Livan!" Dancus and Rarren yelled simultaneously. I ran to the Varrock Guard, and using my momentum, I shoved him out a nearby window. He landed with a splash in the Fishing class' private pond in the courtyard below. First things first, I cut the ropes holding my friends to the chairs with my longsword. I then teleothered our pets back to our home. Neither of them had time to even fathom what had just occurred. "Where's your Uncle?" Dancus asked. "Dead... but listen, we must get out of here now. I think the Bazsmaal have infiltrated the White Knights and the Varrock Guard." Just then, my former White Knight captor came stumbling into the room. "In the name of the Bazsmaal, you must d-" I threw a blank teletab at him and yelled. "Port Sarim Jail!" He was absorbed by a funnel of gold light, heading to an undefined incarceration. "See what I told you?" Dancus stepped into the conversation. "But that means that neither Asgarnia or Misthalin is safe. If the Bazsmaal control the governments then they're going for world domination." "Unfortunately, you're right, Dancus. If that Varrock Guard was able to follow us covertly then we need to find somewhere to hide." "What about the gnomes?" Rarren asked. "They're a peaceful race, and quite hospitable from what I've read." "Well, that makes sense, I believe." Livan pulled three Grand Tree seed pods from her satchel and handed them to us. We all squeezed them and felt vines tangle us and bring us into the ground.